INTERNATIONAL AIR TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION 國際航空運輸協會 (IATA)

·      CEIV Pharma Certification

Ø  Centre of Excellence for Independent Validators for Pharmaceutical Logistics

Transporting healthcare products by air needs the establishment of complex logistical methods to maintain a pharmaceutical shipment’s integrity. It requires specific equipment, storage facilities, harmonized handling procedures and, above all, strong cooperation among the cold chain partners.

IATA informed HAFFA that it has worked closely with the pharmaceutical industry stakeholders and regulators in the creation of the CEIV Pharma program, which covers all aspects of time-sensitive and temperature-controlled cargo shipping, including effective cool chain management and risk mitigation. Through the sharing of best practices and expertise, IATA’s goal is to show the industry how to obtain a larger share of the fastgrowing and lucrative pharmaceutical logistics market. Although there are other certification programmes available in the market, the CEIV Pharma is the only programme catering for the entire handling process along the supply chain.

·      Status in Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) has taken the lead to negotiate with IATA for pursuing CEIV Pharma certification on a community basis for HKIA. Seven participating companies include:

Ø  Asia Airfreight Terminal Co Ltd 亞洲空運中心(AAT)

Ø  Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd 國泰航空有限公司 (CX)

Ø  Cathay Pacific Services Ltd 國泰航空服務有限公司(CPSL)

Ø  Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Ltd 香港空運貨站(Hactl)

Ø  Hong Kong Airport Services Limited 香港機場地勤服務有限公司(HAS)

Ø  Jardine Airport Services Limited 怡中航空服務(JAS)

Ø  SATS HK Ltd 新翔(香港)有限公司(SATS)

To better understand the certification scheme, IATA representative was invited to deliver a presentation to HAFFA Executive Committee. We take the liberty to share with Members the presentation slides. 

More details are available:

[Official Website]

[Brochure]   

[Video]        

·      Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

HAFFA Executive Committee brought out many questions at the IATA’s presentation, which include fees involved, scope of assessment, hardware requirement, training courses and training subsidies. With the supplementary information provided by IATA, we compiled a list of FAQs for Members’ easy reference.

·      Invitation to IATA Briefing Session

·      Date: 28 August 2017 (Monday) 

·      Time: 2:30 pm - 4:30 pm

·      Venue: HAFFA Office, FREE admission

·      Language Medium: English (Supplement with Cantonese)

·      Registration Deadline: 11 August 2017 (Friday)

IATA expressed that there would be synergy for achieving the CEIV Pharma Certification on a community basis (means application to be made by a group of applicants instead of by individual company) where applicants could share the high cost of IATA training. For example, instead of deploying trainers separately for each company, IATA could perform group training for companies participating in the programme together as a community.  In this connection, please find the indicative cost for the CEIV certification in the FAQ document (Question 4). 

A briefing session by Mr. Ronald Schaefer, Assistant Director Cargo, Ground Operations & CEIV Consulting, IATA and Ms. Yvonne Ho, General Manager, Hong Kong & Macau, IATA is scheduled for 28 August 2017 (Monday) at the HAFFA Office.

Should Members be interested to attend the briefing session, please complete the Reply Form and return to the HAFFA Office on or before 11 August 2017 (Friday). 

Kindly note that the briefing session will be cancelled should there be an insufficient number of participants, and we shall inform individual registered Members under this circumstance. For further enquiry, please call Ms. Lim at 2796 3121.